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Global warming is likely to make sourcing large supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables harder and more expensive, says leading supermarket chain Asda.

It says 95% of its fresh produce would be affected by projections of longer summers, heavier rainfall and more extreme weather events.

While the impacts of climate change may be relatively small in the UK compared to overseas, Asda and its UK customers will face heavy impacts because of its global supply chain.

“Climate change is going to fundamentally change growing conditions in some of the markets and countries we source from,” said Paul Kelly, vice president of corporate affairs at Asda, which is the UK branch of US superstore, Walmart.

Concerned about the effect that rising sea levels and changing weather patterns could have on its supply chain, it has launched a Climate Adaptation Framework. “The challenge of how we put healthy, sustainable and affordable food on the plates for customers is one of the biggest challenges our company has ever faced,” Kelly added.

The company’s new climate strategy maps out how the supermarket’s produce and logistics will be affected in the face of changing weather.

The framework was prepared in partnership with the Climate Development Knowledge Network at PwC.

Its chief Sam Bickersteth said it demonstrates even developed countries cannot think themselves immune to rising temperatures and possible extreme events.

“There are lots of factors that will drive shocks in the food system… The UK is an island totally connected to the rest of the world,” he said.

Asda now ranks among the businesses pushing for more action on climate change because they see it having an impact on future profits.

Manuel Gómez Peña, vice president of sustainability at Asda’s US cousin Walmart, recently told RTCC: “It’s not something that we’re doing for public relations or it is the nice thing to do. It’s now making business sense.”

Chris Brown, senior director of sustainable business at Asda, said that they would not immediately be sharing the findings of the report with other companies, as it gave them a “competitive advantage” to know about climate change in the marketplace. But he added: “Once we’ve taken first mover advantage, I think there’s an obligation to use it more broadly.”

Kenya has now reached a decade of successful biological control of spider mites using predatory mites to replace acaricides. Correct use of the predatory mite, Phytoseiulus persimilis, was able to replace chemical acaricides completely.

This resulted in immediate improvements to quality of the roses – which improved the profitability of the crop. Stem length increased, and bud size was larger if chemical pesticides were reduced. Not only growers recognise this as a fact now – but so do discerning customers. They are now checking for pesticide residues on roses and asking suppliers to implement IPM programmes that reduce pesticides in sustainable way.

The success of Phytoseiulus stimulated a paradigm shift in how growers viewed biological control for flower crops. In the beginning, it was not uncommon for Kenyan rose growers to proclaim that: “It is not possible for us to use biological controls in flower crops because we cannot afford any cosmetic damage”. It was widely believed that biological control was not powerful enough to eliminate sufficient spider mites to prevent continued feeding damage.

Fortunately for Kenya, there were a small number of innovative growers who recognised the potential benefits and took the risk of testing the Real IPM Phytoseiulus programme. Simon van der Burg’s new company, Timaflor on the foothills of Mt Kenya was one of these farms. Simon supported Sam Ngugi who was his Real IPM field consultant who guided the Timaflor team through the process.

The increased stem length and bud size that resulted from the reduction in pesticide use meant that the new Timaflor packhouse soon had to be extended because yields exceeded expectations at the planning stage. The rest is history. Timaflor is a globally recognised brand of exceptionally good quality roses.

Real IPM programme
The backbone of our IPM programme is a routine, prophylactic introduction of predatory mites and weekly applications of bio-pesticides – all year around. It does not rely on scouting data to trigger an application. There is neither risk to the environment from regular use of biocontrols nor any risk of resistance to the biological agent developing.

The programme is economically feasible to apply, irrespective of whether the ‘economic threshold’ has been exceeded. Real IPM produces all the biological agents in Kenya, making it very ‘affordable’. A prophylactic programme is essential, because of the speed at which small numbers of insect pests and disease spores can build up, if they are not prevented from establishing. Reliable supplies of freshly harvested predatory mites, produced in Kenya are part of the crop protection programme for spider mites and thrips.

Spider mite control Products
• Phytoseiulus persimilis
• Amblyseius califonicus or A. andersoni
• Achieve (Metarhizium 78)

Real IPM’s high impact Phytoseiulus persimilis Clean Up Programme for spider mite uses up to 2 million Phytoseiulus per hectare.

A weekly maintenance programme uses 25,000 Phytoseiulus per week with 25- 100,000 Amblyseius andersoni per week. If non-compatible pesticides are used for thrips or downy mildew – growers apply Achieve (Metarhizium 78) to suppress mites until it is safe to re-introduce Phytoseiulus and Amblyseius andersoni. 
• Predatory mites kill spider mites on the underside of leaves where pesticides and silicon wetting agents cannot reach.
• Weekly high level introduction rates of predatory mites ensure more efficient searching for pests.
• Achieve sprays (Metarhizium 78) control pest mites without harming predatory mites.
• No scorching or stunting of plants,.
• Fewer pesticide residues on roses.
• Improved yield and quality

Kenya is now leading the world in its reduction of pesticide use in roses and carnations. Spider mite control was the first step in a longer journey. Timaflor has continued to develop its IPM programmes with Real IPM. Asante sana na safari njema! The writer is a director of Real IPM Ltd.

Naivasha Horticultural Fair (NH Fair) has become the biggest and best "Trade Fair" of its kind in the region. The Horticulture Industry in Kenya and East Africa continues to expand and it remains one of the top sources of foreign exchange, foreign investment and employment.

Naivasha Horticultural Fair (NH Fair) is an annual event, which is also registered as charity and does a lot of work locally to assist the needy including the schools. This year we are proudly celebrating our 12th year of the show on the 19th and 20th September at the Naivasha Sports Club. The Fair is held in a spacious venue with ample parking, and it has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. It is always attended by the top executives, owners and management of almost all the flower farms in East Africa and beyond.

The exhibitors at the show are not just companies that are directly linked to horticulture. Unlike most other rate fairs alot of business is completed at the NH fair because it attracts visitors with real spending power. It has proved to be a very successful show for companies selling everything from motor vehicles to financial services and from alternative enerty sources to communication solutions. We've had companies involved in tourism, wine making, construction and even selling fish tanks!

We hope that you company will take advantage of this chance to promote your business, whilst at the same time continue to support a wide range of local charities such as the Naivasha Safe House, Karagita Maternity Hospital, the Red Cross, KSPCA etc. Amongst many others, NH Fair has also supported the Naivasha Street Children centre, various HIV/AIDS, health and disabled charities, the Aga Khan Patient Welfare Programme and has been able to provide rapid assistance to persons affected by natural or manmade distaters.

Etihad Cargo announced more freight capacity in Tanzania, Switzerland and the U.S. Etihad Cargo began a weekly freighter service to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. On the return flight to Abu Dhabi, the freighter will stop in Nairobi.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s biggest city, is a major industrial and economic center in East Africa. The freighter service will operate every Monday to Julius Nyerere International Airport. Etihad Cargo will deploy one of its three Airbus A330-200 wide-body freighters on the route, offering uplift of up to 64 tonnes.

Initially, the airline expects the service to carry heavy electronics, medical equipment and food items to Dar es Salaam, with primarily perishable goods destined for the Gulf region and Europe loaded for the return flights. “Tanzania is a new market for Etihad Cargo, and our weekly Abu Dhabi-Dar es Salaam-Nairobi-Abu Dhabi routing will allow us to capitalize on the strong import and export demand to and from one of the fastest growing cities in Africa,” Kevin Knight, Etihad Airways’ chief strategy and planning officer, said. “This Dar es Salaam service will facilitate trade between the UAE and Tanzania, in addition to offering customers across the Middle East, subcontinent and Europe bidirectional maindeck cargo solutions to and from a major trading center on the African continent.”

Kenya’s agricultural sector is one of the six key economic pillars of Kenya’s Vision 2030. This was said by the Principal Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Mrs Sicily Kariuki during the opening of IFTEX 2014. She added that the sector is expected to drive the Kenyan economy to the projected 10 percent economic growth annually over the next two decades, through promotion of an innovative, commercially oriented and modern agriculture.

“The Kenyan Government appreciates the contribution of the flower industry in the country’s economy. In the year 2013, the Horticulture subsector earned the country Kshs. 83.3 billion in foreign exchange out of which Kshs. 56 billion was earned from floriculture while the rest was from fruit, vegetables and nuts”, she said.

In the last decade, Kenya has experienced growth in its share of the world Flower trade and competes with countries such as Ecuador, Colombia and Ethiopia in the world flower business. Currently, it is ranked the third exporter of flowers globally after Netherlands and Colombia. It is not gain saying that, Kenya is well endowed with favourable climatic conditions, cold chain facilities, local expertise, research and locally available labour.

The ongoing improvement of the infrastructure, for instance the roads, the strategic location of Eldoret airport, the ongoing expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International airport and Kisumu airports provide an opportunity for further growth and expansion of the floriculture industry.

The government recognizes the significant role played by the private sector in the growth of the horticulture subsector and in moving the industry to a new level of development. In that connection, the private sector is encouraged to work with government institutions in creating innovative solutions to problems in the sub-sector.

The government is pleased to note that private sector institutions especially the Kenya Flower Council (KFC) and the Fresh Produce Exporter’s Association (FPEAK) are members of the Kenya Horticulture Taskforce that has enabled the subsector to have a coordinated approach to issues affecting horticulture especially with regard to market requirements and compliance. In order to create an enabling environment for the growth and development of agriculture sector, the Government has put in place the National Horticulture Policy whose broad objective is to accelerate and sustain growth and development of the horticulture industry in order to enhance its contribution towards food security, poverty reduction as well as employment and wealth creation. In addition, the Government has also enacted Crops Act 2013, Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority Act (AFFA), 2013. The Government has also put in place an electronic certification system which is web based and has therefore, reduced the time taken for processing of export documents.

Kenya’s authentic goods and services have for decades been appreciated in the international circles. In view of this, Kenya has embarked on branding her export produce as a measure to reinforce their origin while assuring our customers on the authenticity of the produce. Therefore, the government commends the flower growers who have come together to enhance effective branding of Kenyan flowers abroad in order to tap more into the global market. In support of this, the Government has put in place the Brand Kenya Board to work closely with other stakeholders in the Industry.

Mr. Simon Van Der Burg, Owner Timaflor Ltd
Background

Managing your leadership career is much like managing your stock portfolio. You must continuously decide on how to make your personal brand more valuable by knowing what skill-sets, capabilities and aptitudes to invest in and which not to throughout the course of your career. The ebbs and flows of your leadership career require you to make important choices about how to give your personal brand value. This must have been the case with Simon Van De Burg when he started a 5ha flower farm as a hobby in 2006. Eight years down the line, the forty years experienced Kenyan grower has seen his brand turn into a tangible and measureable influence into the sector with the farm growing to a serious 86ha investment.

Choice of Market
Future-oriented buyers of roses always search for new opportunities for both their own and their customers’ market positions. The purpose is two sided, a satisfied consumer and a sustainable positive result at the end.

What’s needed to succeed?
A clear insight in a completesustainable positive result at the end. What’s needed to succeed? A clear insight in a complete assortment of cut fresh and high quality roses, the ability to shift as quickly as possible through direct contact with the market, perfectly organized logistics, daily quality control and further preparation as you and your customers prefer. Aalsmeer auction offers this all.

Two of the 18 Ugandan flower growers and exporters participated in the third International Floriculture Trade Expo (IFTEX) which was held at Oshwal Center, in Parklands, Nairobi. The farms are Rose Bud Limited and Mairye Estate.

Rosebud Limited, located off Entebbe Road, the largest exporter of Sweetheart cut roses from East Africa and largest exporter of roses from Uganda. The farm produces approximately 40% of total Ugandan flower exports. Mairye, which is located in Ntinda Village, Busukuma Subcounty, Wakiso District, produces about half that amount. Sivalingam Ravi Kumar, the Farm Manager, Rose Bud Limited says IFTEX’s growing popularity shows that there is a fundamental shift in the floriculture market towards Africa with Kenya as the hub, something he says Ugandan flower farmers can take advantage of.